Located in Columbia, NJ, the Lakota Wolf Preserve is home to some two dozens animals, including wolves, bobcats, and foxes. Part wildlife sanctuary, part education center, the preserve offers tours twice a day at 10:30 and 4:00. Reservations are required for weekday tours but not weekend tours. The reservation process seemed a bit antiquated and overly complicated, but after a few back and forth phone calls we were able to reserve a morning tour on a Friday.
Located on the property of the Camp Taylor Campground, the preserve sits on the border of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Centuries ago, wolves roamed these lands but today Alaska and Minnesota are the only two states with populations remaining in the wild. But the woodlands of NJ are still hospitable to the species and the rescued animals thrive here under the love and care of the owners, Jim Stein and Becky Mace.
Upon arrival at the campgrounds, a staff member will direct you where to park. (Be sure to note your license plate number if you don’t have it memorized; they require it when you sign in for the tour.) You have to go inside the gift shop to confirm your reservation and pay for your tickets. (Cash or check only – $15 for adults and $7 for kids 11 and under.) You will then go outside to wait for the next shuttle bus up to the reserve.
You have the option to walk the roughly half mile to the reserve if you don’t want to take the bus. Note that the path is steep and can be muddy. Since it was drizzling, we opted to take the bus. The buses are well-worn with age but they mentioned they are trying to purchase newer ones. For the 5 minute bus ride, it wasn’t an issue.
The reserve is found at the top of the hill. There are 4 wolf enclosures that are each roughly the size of a football field: 2 for two different packs of Timber Wolves, and one each for the packs of British Columbian and Arctic Wolves. In addition, they have smaller enclosures for both bobcats and foxes.
Each enclosure is protected by two layers of chain link fence. The fences run deep under the ground to keep the wolves from digging out and are topped with three rows of barbed wire angled towards the inside of the enclosure to keep them from climbing out. The four enclosures are situated such that the inside four corners meet, with the observation area between them.
When the tour began, they took our tickets and let us into the observation area. I think the word “tour” is really a misnomer here. It is more of a presentation or an educational lecture. Jim stopped at two different points in the observation area, stood up on a bench, and taught us all about the wolves. He clearly has an amazing amount of knowledge about the animals and his personal anecdotes about raising them were really interesting and entertaining.
That being said, there were so many people on this tour. There had to be well over a hundred people. I was surprised that they allowed so many to come, especially since I had been dissuaded from coming the previous day because they said a lot of people were signed up. I can’t imagine having any more than they already did. Unfortunately, I think it took away from the experience. Despite having a loud voice, it was still difficult to hear Jim much of the time. And with so many people crowded around, it was especially hard for kids to get views into the enclosures he was talking about or to see the wolves up close when he called them and gave them treats.
Ultimately my 8 and 10 year olds were able to squirm their way up closer to the front and heard the lectures and saw the wolves better than I did. They really enjoyed it. But I would caution that if you bring kids who are younger than teenagers, they really need to be animal lovers. Many of the younger kids were bored, wandering up and down the outside of the enclosures, and clearly not listening to the lecture. The whole thing lasted an hour and a half (roughly 45 minutes with the wolves and 45 with the bobcats and foxes), and I think my kids were the exception in that they were engaged almost the whole time. The lecture is really informative but definitely geared towards adults.
But all in all, we learned a ton about the wolves and had some good opportunities to see these beautiful creatures. Probably the coolest part was when Jim initiated a group howl that lasted several minutes.
After the wolf part of the tour was over, we left the observation area and went to an area outside the bobcat enclosure. Becky took over the tour from here and was inside the pen with the bobcats first and then the foxes. Her knowledge and passion about these two animals equaled Jim’s about the wolves. You could really feel their love and dedication to the animals.
The bobcat is older and very shy. It took a lot of coaxing but Becky got him to come out to eat some meat.
After that we shifted over to the fox enclosure. There were two foxes inside – one who was scared and shy and one who acted like a playful yet well-trained puppy. The shy one was red and hid behind a log for most of the presentation. The other was a cool grayish color. He was absolutely adorable and would do pretty much anything for treats.
All in all, I think the Lakota Wolf Preserve is worth a visit. The owners are clearly dedicated to the preservation of the species and to the well-being of these specific animals. They have a wealth of knowledge that they are happy to share, and their love for their animals and their work is obvious.
But I do think it will be helpful to level-set your expectations so that you aren’t caught off guard or disappointed. First, don’t expect a walking tour past all the enclosures. You will stand in one central spot and listen to a lecture. And second, do expect a large crowd. A very large crowd. I felt like it detracted from the experience for us – it was hard to both see the animals and hear the speaker. And third, don’t bring young children. The tour is not geared towards young kids and the format will most likely bore them. If you keep those things in mind, I think you will really enjoy your visit to the Lakota Wolf Preserve.
